Angels Under Fire
by jrchandlerfan1
Summary: Julian and Alexis move to Port Charles with their children Sam and Lucas. Sam is giving her parents, especially her mother, a hard time with the new baby coming. Sam befriends Elizabeth at her new high school and the friends meet the Quartermaine twins. Carly, the most popular girl at school, gives them a hard time. Julexis, Dream, Liason.
1. Chapter 1- Welcome to PC

Hello everyone, so I realize what ifs where Alexis raised Sam have already been done countless times in the fanfic world (and all that I've read are amazing), but this is my own little spin on it. Julian and Alexis are married and both Sam and Lucas are their biological children. Sam is 14 and Lucas is 7. I'm going to do multiple points of view in this story to make things easier. This chapter starts in Alexis' POV and finishes in Sam's. Julexis' family will be the central characters, but I will switch to others as well. Enjoy!

**Chapter 1- Welcome to Port Charles**

_Alexis hugged her knees to her chest, as if putting pressure on her womb would change everything. Back in her Briarton Griggs uniform, sitting on a twin bed. Her cries pierced her ears… her sweet baby's cries wouldn't get out of her head. She wasn't in her arms. She wasn't in her womb. She just wasn't. The clinic was in walking distance. She just had to… she had to go get her. _

_ She sprang to her feet and crept up the stairs. She froze. There he sat. Mikkos Cassadine rocking back and forth in his chair with his fingers forming a steeple. Then he spoke to her for the first time ever. "You did the right thing."_

_ Her chest went heavy, weighing her down on those stairs. How could sending her sweet baby girl out in the world all alone be the right thing? Her body ached. Her eyes stung from crying so hard. She stood there for what felt like an eternity. Out or down? Out or down? Those were her options._

_ With the man whom she feared most of all watching her, she darted passed him and out the front door, not looking back._

"Mommy!" Lucas' voice made her jolt awake. "Sammie took my Game boy!"

"Tattle tale!" Sam said through gritted teeth.

Alexis at the them in the backseat and groaned. "Sam, give it back to Lucas. You have your Walkman that you desperately _had _to have.

"Why don't you take turns?" Julian suggested as he turned the steering wheel and the _Welcome to Port Charles _sign appeared.

"Whatever." Sam plopped the Game Boy hard on Lucas' lap, then stared out the window. "You always take his side."

"That's not true, Cookie," Alexis said.

Lucas returned to his game.

"Why do we have to move away?" Sam whined. "All my friends are back in Boston."

"Because your dad and Aunt Ava are starting an art gallery."

Sam huffed. "Dad can't draw squat."

"It's the business aspect, Princess," Julian said. "Plus, you'll be closer to your cousins."

Sam kicked that back of Alexis' seat hard.

"_Samantha_!" Alexis scolded her.

"Can I live with Aunt Ava?" Sam asked.

"Of course not!" Alexis said.

"Here we are!" Julian said brightly as they pulled into the driveway at the Lakehouse. "Our new home."

They piled their suitcases into the house and Alexis plopped down on the couch. "That car ride was exhausting."

Lucas climbed onto Alexis' lap and wrapped his arms around her waist. She held him tightly. She dreaded the day when he would stop wanting cuddles from her like Sam.

Sam kicked her shoes in the air, and they landed in front of Alexis and Lucas. "I hate this house!" She took off down the hallway.

Alexis rolled her eyes. "Do you want to go check out your room too, Lukey?"

He nodded. "Yeah!" He followed after Sam.

Julian settled in beside Alexis and wrapped an arm around her. "She'll get used to it."

She shook her head. "This attitude… I can't take it. And she won't talk to me like she used to. Not since we told them I'm pregnant."

"Remember? She was the same way when Lucas was born," Julian said. "All those temper tantrums and slamming doors. Lasted about a year."

"That's reassuring."

"Then Lucas choked on a charm from her bracelet…"

She sighed. "That was one of the scariest days of my life."

"That was when she changed. She grew protective of him."

"Now she keeps picking on him."

"She'll grow protective of the new baby too."

"I hope so."

GHGHGH

First day. New School. Freshman. No friends. Thanks a lot Mom. And it didn't help that everyone was taller than her. Much taller. If only she got her mom's height.

_Crash_

A group of tall prissy girls walked smack into Sam. The blonde grabbed her books from her hands dropped them on the floor. "Oops." She rubbed her hands together and they walked away.

Sam groaned and bent over to pick them up, and another girl with short and wavy brown hair moved away from her locker to help. "She's like that with everyone."

Sam groaned and took a couple books from her girl. "I don't like her."

Sam noticed they were the same height. At least she wasn't the only shrimp there.

"Me neither," the girl said. "But everyone wants to be her friend. She's the most popular girl in school. She's tall. Pretty. All the boys like her." She peeked over at Sam's schedule that sat on top of her books. "We have homeroom together! But anyway," she lowered her voice. "I heard she got jiggy with AJ Quartermaine last year."

"Who's he?" Sam asked.

The girl scrunched her face. "Are you new to town?"

"Yeah."

"Well, everyone here knows the Quartermaines. They're one of the richest families. They have a mansion and everything. I think they're only second to the Cassadines when it comes to being cash-rich."

Sam breathed in deeply. Of course everyone would know the Cassadines. Nikolas had _everything_ she ever wanted.

"Elizabeth!" The blonde girl walked up to them. "Who's your new friend?"

Elizabeth's eyes grew wide as if she were shocked that the blonde girl would be talking to her. "Uh… I don't know actually. What's your name?"

"I'm Sam."

"Well, Sam… Elizabeth… come with us. We're having a ciggy break."

Sam swallowed hard. She'd never skipped class before or had a ciggy… ever… Mom would kill her. Literally _kill her_.

"Uh… my Gram… uh…" Elizabeth said.

The blonde girl crossed her arms. "If you're too scared, we'll invite someone else."

Elizabeth furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm not scared."

Sam looked at Elizabeth, then at the blonde girl. "We'll do it."

She smiled. "Great. I'm Caroline by the way. But everyone calls me Carly."

She led them out to the parking lot where a group off teenagers stood around smoking. Carly pulled out a box of cigarettes and handed one to each of them. Sam stared at it as Carly lit all them. Sam brought it to her mouth and started coughing right away… it tasted disgusting.

"Where are you from?" Carly asked.

"Boston," Sam said, coughing again.

"Well, here," Carly said slipping the box of cigarettes into Sam's jean pocket. "You need to practice so you won't cough so much."

"Carly!" A skinny blonde boy with blue eyes came over to them carrying a red-headed baby boy. "I can't find the daycare and I'm already late for class."

Elizabeth's mouth dropped slightly as she gazed at him and she dropped her cigarette.

Carly groaned and she blew some smoke out of her mouth. "Jason, I told you specifically where it was! AJ and I are juniors now. We don't have time for such matters."

"You said it was right next to the school building," Jason said. "I've been circling it for a half hour now."

"Then you're just going to have to watch Michael today." She glared at him. "But don't you dare tell Mama or Monica! They'll just go on about responsibility to me and AJ again."

"Well, well, well…" A middle-aged man walked over to them. "What do we have here?"

Carly gasped. "Principal Barrie!" She threw her cigarette on the ground and stomped on it. "I'm so sorry. It's this new girl!"

Sam gaped at her.

"She forced me to smoke with her."

The principal raised an eyebrow. "_Forced_ you?"

"I did not!" Sam said.

"Just look in her pockets."

"Miss, please turn out your pockets," the principal said.

"But… but…" Sam pulled out the cigarette box. "She gave them to me!"

"Come along. We're going to call your parents."


	2. Chapter 2- Phone Calls

Hi everyone, I'm taking a small break from Priorities and thought I'd continue this one. Just remember this is very alternate universe and the ages are very mixed up and a lot of the age ranges will change from the show (though I kept a few the same, like Julian, Alexis, and Sam's age ranges). I'll list the ages in this story to avoid any confusion. I think I've covered everyone who might be in it. Also, I know Elizabeth was a rebellious teen, but I'm writing her a bit differently to show how bad of an influence Carly is on everyone. So, Elizabeth is more like post-rape Elizabeth, I guess? Also, Drew and Jason are fraternal twins in this, because I want to picture a young BM as Drew lol. Anyway, enjoy!

Audrey- 65

Alan- 46

Tony- 45

Monica- 44

Noah- 44

Bobbie- 44

Robert 43

Luke- 43

Kevin- 42

Laura- 41

Stefan- 41

Anna- 38

Julian- 33

Diane- 32

Alexis- 30

Sonny- 30

Olivia- 29

Franco- 29

Ava- 28

Steve- 26

Max- 23

Milo- 21

Patrick- 17 (Grade 12)

AJ- 16 (Grade 11)

Carly- 16 (Grade 11)

Sarah- 16 (Grade 11)

Jason- 15 (Grade 10)

Drew- 15 (Grade 10)

Robin- 15 (Grade 10)

Nikolas- 15 (Grade 10)

Lucky- 14 (Grade 9)

Sam- 14 (Grade 9)

Elizabeth- 14 (Grade 9)

Emily- 14 (Grade 9)

Maxie- 9 (Grade 4)

Dante- 9 (Grade 4)

BJ- 8 (Grade 3)

Dillon- 7 (Grade 2)

Georgie- 7 (Grade 2)

Lucas- 7 (Grade 2)

Lulu- 7 (Grade 2)

Brooklyn- 7 (Grade 2)

Kiki- 5 (Kindergarten)

Michael- 4 months old

**Chapter 2- Phone Calls**

Alexis leaned back in her chair and stared at their most recent family photo sitting on her new desk. Lucas sat on her lap with Julian and Sam standing on either side of her. Sam scowled just about every time the photographer tried to take the picture, the best they could get was a blank look on her face, though her eyes were very telling. If only she would talk to her like she used to.

She sighed heavily when the intercom beeped. It had been a long day at her new office, and she was unsure of her new partner Diane Miller. She was snarky with Alexis all morning and left at noon to go to court.

"Ms. Davis, you have a call on line 1 from Michael Corinthos the second," Judy's voice boomed through the intercom.

"Miller-Davis Law Firm, Alexis Davis speaking," Alexis said after answering her phone.

"Hi, this is Sonny Corinthos."

"As in the mob boss?"

"I'm a coffee importer," Sonny said. "I've just been arrested at the PCPD. I need a lawyer. Usually Diane represents me, but your secretary said she's unavailable right now."

Alexis frowned. She had never represented a mobster before. Ever. "Okay, I'll be right there."

GHGHGH

"I like it." Julian set his hand on his chin and grinned at Ava's new painting of the pier.

"Do you?" Ava asked. "It's quite different from my usual work. Franco thinks I should go more abstract."

Julian's hand dropped from his chin and he just about keeled over. "I'm sorry, _who _thinks that?"

Ava rolled her eyes. "Relax, he's changed."

"_Changed_? After all he put you and Kiki through?"

"He apologized and… well, he's been taking Kiki for ice cream every Wednesday and I join them sometimes."

Julian clenched his jaw.

"He's even in therapy and taking anger management classes," Ava added.

"_Anger Management_? He tried to kill you and kidnap Kiki."

"I want to give him another chance," Ava said. "He's Kiki's father."

"By blood maybe. But he's never been there for her or you."

_Ring. Ring._

Ava grinned and walked over to the phone. "Saved by the bell… Hello? Yes, he is. May I ask who's calling?" She held the phone out to Julian. "It's Lucas' school, they can't get a hold of Alexis."

Julian took the phone from her and pressed it to his ear. "Yeah?"

"Mr. Jerome, this is the Port Charles Elementary secretary, Mrs. Dowling."

"Okay."

"I'm calling to tell you that Lucas fainted in gym class."

Julian paused for a moment. "Did he eat lunch?"

"His teacher said he wasn't hungry. He was also experiencing shortness of breath and the school nurse found a rash on his leg. He'll need to be picked up and we'd like him to see a doctor."

Julian ran his hand through his hair. "I'll be right there."

He set the phone down and looked at Ava. "Lucas is sick."

"Stomach ache? Or nerves on his first day?"

He shook his head. "I don't know… I mean, he has been complaining of being tired a lot lately. We've been so focused on the move and Sam has been giving us a lot of attitude lately."

"Sounds like her father," Ava muttered.

He shook his head. "It can't be anything serious. Probably some childhood sickness like Roseola again. He had it before."

"When he was sixteen months old. That's more common in children under two."

_Ring. Ring._

"Go!" Ava prodded him out. "Go to Lucas. I'll answer that."

GHGHGH

Jason sat on a bench outside of PC High with Michael sitting on his lap. Why he always let AJ and Carly tell him what to do, he didn't know. Even when they were kids AJ always decided what they would play.

"They're making you babysit again?" His best friend, Robin walked out at afternoon break. "I wondered when you didn't show up to science class."

He shrugged. "It's fine. I love Michael."

"You need to stand up to them. Michael is their responsibility. If you want to be a doctor you need to keep your grades up. That's the plan, right? We'll go to med school together."

Jason grinned. "Patrick Drake passed your locker again, didn't he?"

Robin blushed.

"He wants to be a doctor, so you do too," Jason said.

She smacked his arm and he chuckled. "Oh, shut up. If we're going to talk about Patrick, then maybe we should talk about Elizabeth Webber."

It was Jason's turn to turn red. "Don't change the subject. My only concern with Patrick is he's a senior. He'll be going to college next year. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Thank you for your concern, but I'll be fine," Robin said. "But I've seen the way you look at Elizabeth."

He sighed. "I don't know her very well. I just saw her a few times when AJ was dating Sarah. Besides, I'm too old for her."

"One year won't make a difference after you're both over eighteen. I say give it a shot. The worst she can say is no."

Jason frowned and placed Michael's soother back in his mouth when he dropped. He looked up when Bobbie walked over to the school.

"Did Carly really pin Michael off on you, Jason?" Bobbie asked. "I don't know what I'm going to do with her. And the school called me down because she was caught smoking with some friends. After everything Tony and I have told her about the harms of smoking." She shook her head. "Can I bother you to stay with Michael a little longer until I've spoken to Carly and the principal?"

"Yes, of course."

GHGHGH

Sam shifted awkwardly in her seat between Carly and Elizabeth outside the principal's office. Neither said a word to each other while Carly's mom and Elizabeth's granddaughter spoke to Mr. Barrie. But where was Mom? Could it be that they couldn't get a hold of her OR Dad? Maybe she wouldn't be in trouble with them after all. She didn't want to see the look on Mom's face if she found out she tried a smoke.

_Click. Click. Click._

But Sam's mouth dropped slightly when Aunt Ava's high heels announced hers and Franco's presence. She'd only seen Kiki's dad a couple of times when Aunt Ava brought him over, but Mom always instantly removed her and Lucas from the house and they ended up going for ice cream instead.

"Smoking, Sam?" Aunt Ava said. "Really?"

Franco looked at Sam, Elizabeth, and Carly and grinned at them.

"Please don't tell Mom and Dad," Sam begged. "Please. Especially not Mom." Sam scrunched her face. "But why are you here?"

"The school couldn't get a hold of your mom, and Julian had to take Lucas to see a doctor. I received the phone call."

"A doctor?" Sam asked. "Why?"

"Oh, he fainted at school. I'm sure he's fine. But don't change the subject, young lady. Why were you smoking?"

Sam exchanged a look with Elizabeth, then turned to Carly who glared at her.

"I just felt like it," Sam said. "And if you tell Mom and Dad then I'll tell them you brought Franco here!"

Ava groaned.

The door to the office swung open and Mr. Barrie walked out with Carly's mom and Elizabeth's grandma.

"You must be Samantha's aunt," Mr. Barrie said. "We have a little problem. Sam and Carly both claim the other was influencing them to smoke. Neither Elizabeth nor Jason Quartermaine who was there as well will speak. But Sam had a pack of cigarettes in her pocket. I'm afraid we'll have to give her a week's detention and I'll need to speak to her parents when they're available."

"Wait!" Elizabeth finally spoke. "It was Carly… she stuck them into Sam's pocket. She pressured us to smoke."

Sam smiled a little. Carly scowled and Bobbie crossed her arms, shaking her head at Carly.

"But we kind of agreed," Elizabeth said. "I'm sorry, Gram. I just wanted to fit in."

"Well, thank you for being honest, Elizabeth," Audrey said.

"Very well," Mr. Barrie said. "Carly will serve a week's detention starting tomorrow. For now, all of you are dismissed early." He returned to his office and shut the door.

Carly glared at Sam and Elizabeth, but Bobbie took her arm. "Come on, let's go get Michael. We'll talk about this when we get home." They disappeared down the hallway.

Sam smiled at Elizabeth. "Thanks for standing up for me."

"All right, well we need to go pick up Kiki," Ava said. "You can come with us until your mom is done work, or Julian and Lucas are back from the hospital."

GHGHGH

Alexis sat in the interrogation room at the PCPD going through Sonny Corinthos' file. Murder, theft, selling illegal goods, abductions. All he got off on.

Finally, Commissioner Devane brought him in. She cuffed him to the table and said they had 15 minutes before leaving.

"Tell me, Mr. Corinthos," Alexis said. "How is it that you've gotten away with so much? And don't try to convince me you were innocent of all of it."

He stared at her blankly and said, "I deny nothing, and I admit nothing."

She closed the folder and studied him for a moment. "Give me one good reason why I should represent the godfather of Port Charles."

"I'm a coffee importer."

"Don't beat around the bush."

"If not for me, do it for my wife and son," Sonny said. "Or do it for yourself. I pay well."

"I don't need your money."

"I have had many attorneys through the years. Most of them are still alive."

Alexis raised an eyebrow. "Most? Is that a threat?"

He shrugged. "Just a fact. If you can't do it, I'll wait on Diane."

Alexis swallowed hard. "I'll do it."

GHGHGH

Julian paced the hospital room as Lucas sat up on the examination table.

"I'm okay now, Daddy," Lucas whined. "I wanna go home and see Mommy."

He walked over to him and squeezed his shoulder. "Let's just wait and see the doctor first, okay bud?"

It felt like forever until the doctor finally arrived. "I'm Dr. Noah Drake. And this must be Lucas. How are you feeling?"

"Sleepy… I wanna go home to bed."

Dr. Drake checked his throat, ears, and observed the rash on his leg. "I'm going to need to send him for some tests."

"Tests!?" Julian grunted. "You sure it's not just Roseola?"

He shook his head. "I really advise getting some tests done."

Julian felt the colour drain from his face.


	3. Chapter 3- CO77X

**Chapter 3- CO77X**

Mr. Corinthos kept dodging Alexis' questions. He'd even turn it around on her asking personal questions about her family. She could have sworn he was hitting on her, but the time on her watch just wouldn't move fast enough. They stepped out of the interrogation room when they received word that his wife had paid his bail. Olivia walked over and slapped him in the face.

"You said you would give up your life of—"

Sonny pressed a finger to her lips to silence her. "Everything is under control. I've got this."

Olivia pushed his hand away and laughed. "Everything is under control? That's what you always say. God forbid if Dante gets _abducted _again."

"I will protect him."

"Mrs. Jerome?" the receptionist said after hanging up her phone. "Your husband keeps trying to get a hold of you."

"Why?" Alexis scrunched her face. "What's wrong?"

"He needs you to meet him at the hospital. Something about your son fainting in gym class."

GHGHGH

Andrew Quartermaine was a very busy sophomore. He was more involved in extracurricular activities than Jason was, particularly the media team. Each twin were honours students. Jason, however, spent most of his free time doing Carly and AJ's homework, babysitting Michael, and running errands for Carly. AJ and Drew didn't get along, but all three brothers doted on their little sister Emily. Emily also babysat Michael quite a bit when their mother was working.

When Drew arrived home from a meeting with the other writers of the school newspaper, Carly was sitting in the living room with Jason and Emily.

"What do you mean AJ is at Kelly's with Sarah!?" Carly huffed and crossed her arms. "He's supposed to be _my _boyfriend!"

Emily shrugged. "He said they were working on a science project."

"Well, then. Two can play at that game. I'll go find another man to do a _project _with!"

She flipped her wavy blonde hair and held her head high. She grunted when she saw Drew and left the room dramatically.

Drew plopped down next to Emily and rolled his eyes. "I guess I heard wrong then. Rumour has it that Carly pressured Elizabeth and a new girl to smoke. Everyone was saying she was in loads of trouble. I would've thought she'd be grounded at least."

"She was," Jason said. "She snuck out."

"Of course she did…" Drew said. "Did she bring Michael?"

Emily shook her head. "She said he's with her mom, but she doesn't know Carly left."

"Okay… do you know when Mom and Dad will be home?" Drew asked.

"Oh, Drew, stop!" Emily smacked his arm. "I don't want you to go away."

"You know I've always wanted to go to military school. I'll still come back to visit. It starts in September, just a couple weeks after regular school starts. I'm sure they'll let me go. Though Mom might take some convincing. And I know Grandfather wants all of us to work for ELQ one day… but I want to be in the army."

"But it won't be the same without you here."

"If Drew wants to go to Military School, then he should go," Jason said. "We should support him."

Emily groaned, then nudged Drew. "You know, there's a start of school dance next Friday. You might meet a girl. That could change your mind."

GHGHGH

Sam started to worry when they still hadn't heard from either of her parents after dinnertime. She loved playing with Kiki but could only take Candyland in small amounts. But Kiki wanted to play it over and over and over and over again. By the time 7 o'clock rolled around, Kiki had fallen asleep over the board game. Aunt Ava carried her to bed. While said waited, she heard a strange hissing sound like a snake from down the hallway.

Slowly and quietly, Sam followed the sound to a slightly opened door. She pushed it open more so ever so slightly. The hissing sounds were coming from Franco as he made big and violent strokes of red paint over a canvas with CO77X written in the corner. But underneath the red paint was a figure of her father lying dead under a bridge. Sam gasped and Franco turned to her sharply.

GHGHGH

Julian was growing frustrated while he and Lucas waited for the test results and he couldn't get a hold of Alexis. Dinner time had passed but Lucas said he wasn't hungry. But finally, Dr. Quartermaine brought Alexis in. She gave Julian a worried look, then rushed over and hugged Lucas.

"Mommy…" Lucas said. "I wanted you."

"I'm so sorry, buddy. I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere."

The door opened again, and Dr. Drake walked in. "Mr. and Mrs. Jerome, can I speak to you outside?"

"Mommy, don't leave me…" Lucas stuck out his lower lip.

"We just need to speak to the doctor," Alexis said stroking his hair. "We'll just be outside the door."

"I can stay with the little guy for a few minutes," Monica offered.

Alexis kissed Lucas' forehead before she and Julian joined Noah in the hallway.

"What's wrong with Lucas?" Julian asked.

"It can't be anything serious, can it?" Alexis said.

Noah frowned. "There's no easy way to tell you this. But Lucas has leukemia."

Alexis' face went white as a ghost.

Julian laughed. "You're joking, right? There is no way that my son has cancer."

"I'm so sorry," Noah said.

Alexis burst into tears and buried her face into Julian's chest. Julian clenched his jaw.

"We're going to give him a steroid to try and jump-start his red blood cell production," Noah explained. "If that doesn't work, we'll start H.L.A.-typing for bone-marrow matches."

"He needs a bone marrow transplant?" Alexis asked.

Noah nodded. "Yes. Preferably from a blood relative."

GHGHGH

Sam thought Franco would get angry, but he just grinned creepily.

"Uhhh," Sam said awkwardly. "I was just looking for Aunt Ava. Didn't mean to interrupt…"

"Are you an artist like your aunt?" He turned back to the canvas, painting more blood coming from her dad's gut.

"Not really."

"I could give you some lessons," Franco said. "There's such beauty in art. Especially when working with real dead models."

Sam gulped.

GHGHGH

Lucas was moved to a room and hooked up to an IV. Alexis laid with him on the bed until he fell asleep. Alexis felt her own eyes get droopy but then she jolted. "Where's Sam?"

"Ava picked her up from school," Julian said. "Though I haven't touched based with her in a few hours. She's likely wondering where we—"

"She's at _Ava_'s? With _Franco_ there?"

Julian sighed. "I'm sure Ava won't leave her and Kiki alone with him."

"I'd rather her stay at Wyndemere with Stefan and Nikolas. Helena's not in the country."

Julian nodded.

"I don't…" Alexis said. "I don't want to break my promise to Lukey. Can you go get Sam?"

"Yeah, of course."


	4. Chapter 4- The Heir and the Spare

**Chapter 4- The Heir and the Spare**

Carly stood outside of Kelly's for twenty minutes, just staring at AJ and Sarah Webber through the window. They had their science textbooks open, but every so often Sarah would touch his hand making Carly grit her teeth. By the time Sarah placed her hand on his cheek, Carly had enough. She stormed inside and shoved Sarah so hard, that both she and her chair fell backwards onto the floor.

"Carly!" AJ shouted.

"Get your hands off my boyfriend!" Carly huffed and set her hands on her hips.

Sarah slowly rose and flipped her blonde hair out of her face. "We were just studying together."

Carly punched her square in the nose and blood splattered from it.

AJ jumped up and moved over to Sarah. "Carly, stop it!"

"Oh sure, take her side!" Carly spit on Sarah's feet. "Just stay out of it, AJ!" Carly dove forward and tackled Sarah to the ground. Sarah rolled over so she was on top of Carly for about a millisecond before Carly pushed back so she was on top again. Carly reached for the ketchup and splattered some on Sarah's head.

AJ lifted Carly up, then helped Sarah to her feet. "That's it, Carly. We're over!"

Carly crossed her arms and dropped her mouth slightly. "_Over_!? You're breaking up with me!?"

"Yes. Yes, I am," AJ said.

"You're not breaking up with me, because _I_'_m _breaking up with _you_! And while I'm at it, don't even bother seeing Michael anymore because I want him full-time!"

"Full-time?" AJ laughed. "Even having him part-time you just pin him off on Jason!"

"So do _you_!"

"We'll see who gets Michael. Don't forget, my family can afford better lawyers than yours can!"

Carly groaned, then stormed out of Kelly's.

GHGHGH

Franco rose to his feet and handed Sam his paint brush. "Come. I'll show you how to paint blood."

Sam stared at the painting of her dad's dead body.

"Sam?" Ava called from the hallway. "Where did you go?"

"Gotta go!" Sam dropped the paintbrush and ran out to her aunt in the hallway.

Ava raised an eyebrow. "What were you doing in Franco's studio?"

"Uh, nothing," Sam said.

"She was asking if I could give her some art lessons." Franco appeared at the doorway. "I told her I'd love to."

Ava smiled. "Well isn't that nice."

A knock drew their attention to the front door, then Julian walked in white as a ghost.

"Everything okay with Lucas?" Ava asked.

Julian frowned and shook his head. "Sam, let's go."

"What's wrong with Lucas?" Sam asked.

"I'll tell you later… maybe later this week… or month… I don't know, let's just go."

Sam crossed her arms. "No, I want to know now!"

Julian sighed heavily. "He has… he has cancer. Leukemia."

Ava gasped and threw her hand over her mouth.

Sam stared at him for several seconds, then shouted, "You're lying!"

Julian lowered his gaze, then looked at Sam. "I wish I was, squirt."

Sam peeked around Julian. "Get Mom. She'll straighten you out. She'll get you to stop lying about Lucas!"

"Your mom's spending the night at the hospital with him. The doctors think he needs a bone marrow transplant."

"Let me know if you need me to get tested," Ava offered and hugged Julian. "He'll get through this."

"He doesn't need to get through anything, because he's _fine_," Sam insisted.

"Sam, get in the car and we'll talk," Julian said.

Sam groaned and stomped out of the house.

Julian thanked Ava and glared at Franco before following Sam outside.

Sam was sitting in the backseat staring out the window as Julian hopped in.

"Not going to sit in the front today?" Julian asked and started the ignition. "We're not giving up on Lucas. He'll get through this."

Julian sighed when Sam didn't respond. "Your mom wants you to stay at Wyndemere instead tonight. Neither of us trust Franco, and Helena's out of town so you'll be safe with Stefan… but if you prefer, I can take you home and stay with you."

Sam finally turned, looking at Julian through the rearview mirror. "Go to them, I'm sure Mom is just spoiling her Lukey by spending the night at Disneyworld or something. I'd rather spend the night under the same room as prissy Nikolas than with you."

GHGHGH

Carly was mad. No, furious. How AJ could cheat on _her_? Well, two could play at that game. If he thinks he's found someone better than Carly, then she'd definitely find someone better than him. Someone older. Perhaps a senior like Jax or Patrick. That would show him.

She grunted as she walked down to the docks near Kelly's and stared out at the water. Just where would Jax or Patrick be on a school night? Could they be at a party? Hopefully not the library, there's no way Carly would step foot into a place like that.

"Are you okay, Miss?"

Carly whipped around. An older man who must've been about 30 stood there. Not much taller than she was, with greased back black hair. With slightly tanned skin, he must've been Italian or something.

Carly shrugged. "I'm fine."

"Can I offer to walk you home?"

She began to smile. "That would be lovely."

"Take my coat, it's very chilly." He took off his long, beige coat and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Why, thank you."

"My name's Sonny. What's yours?"

Carly swallowed hard. "It's Caroline."

He smiled, showing off his dimples as they continued to walk. "That's a beautiful name. Sweet Caroline."

She grinned back at him and got an idea. "I… uh… my birthday is in November. I'll be… 22."

"22? You're so young. I'm 30. Has anyone told you that you have beautiful eyes?"

Carly blushed.

"Can I buy you a drink at the Port Charles Hotel?"

Carly and AJ always stole alcohol from his cellar, but never before has an adult offered her a drink before. Her mama wouldn't even let her sip her wine. "I'd love that."

GHGHGH

Sam always had mixed feelings about visiting Wyndemere. It was nice because it made her feel rich and like she lived there. But then she'd always have to see Nikolas who really did live there. He had it so easy. He had servants (especially Alfred who would do literally everything he wanted), money, fancy clothes, a limousine driver, and he had travelled most of the world before he was ten. Not like Sam who had to live in tiny houses and had to share everything with her annoying brother.

But how her own father could lie to her about something that huge was beyond her. At least it had to be a lie… Anything would be better than spending the night with him right now, even staying with Nikolas. She might even consider dealing with freaky Franco right now, but Nikolas seemed like the lesser of the three evils at that point. Plus, she always found Uncle Stefan so interesting. She'd never met Helena, not once, at least she what could remember. But she had overheard her mom talking about her countless times and not in a good way.

She never realized that Uncle Stefan and Nikolas ate dinner so late each night. Sam had already eaten, but Uncle Stefan insisted she join them. It was pretty annoying sitting across from Nikolas during the dinner. But she got a kick out of Alfred's blind obedience.

"Anything else for Lady Samantha?" Alfred offered with a bow.

Stefan rubbed his temples.

"Hot fudge sundae?" Sam couldn't resist.

He nodded. "Hot fudge sundae, of course. And for Master Nikolas?"

"Hot fudge sundae sounds good," Nikolas agreed.

He turned to Stefan. "And for you, sir?"

"Nothing tonight, Alfred," Stefan said, rising from his chair. "My head isn't feeling quite right, I think I'll excuse myself. My apologies Samantha. Just ask Alfred if you need anything. You can stay in the spare room next to Nikolas."

The spare room. That's all Sam was good for next to Prince Nikolas. She was certain neither of them saw her as more than a spare.

After Stefan went to bed and Alfred brought them their hot fudge sundaes, Sam stared at her cousin while she ate her dessert.

"I haven't had one of these in a while," Nikolas said.

"Yeah right," Sam mumbled. "You probably have fancy desserts every night."

Nikolas shook his head. "It's usually crème brulee or apple rose puffs. Uncle doesn't want me to eat chocolate too often. Though I know it's actually Grandmother who doesn't want me to. I heard her say I get too obstreperous when I have it."

Sam busted out laughing spitting out some of her ice cream. "Obstreperous?"

He rolled his eyes. "That's how our grandmother speaks. She expects me to be her perfect prince. Her decent heir."

Sam shook her head. "Oh, don't talk like you don't have it good. You have the perfect life. You live in a castle and have all these servants. You have Alfred obeying your every command."

"It's not as wonderful as it looks. I love Uncle, but sometimes I hate it here. Sometimes the only thing I look forward to is when you come to visit with Aunt Alexis and Lucas. I've always been kind of jealous of you actually."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Of me?"

He nodded. "You have a mother, a father, a little brother. You get to go to school. I just have tutors come and Grandmother gives me history lessons on our ancestors and how they left Russia, settled in Greece, then eventually came to Spoon Island. Sometimes I wish I could just be a normal kid. Sometimes I would like to find my mother."

"Do you have any idea who your mother is?"

He shook his head. "I've been wanting to ask Uncle about her but I'm afraid I'll hit a dead end. Maybe I'll find out she's dead like my father is."

Sam frowned. "You won't know if you don't try. I wonder if my mom knows."

Nikolas shrugged. "If they wanted me to know they would've told me by now, I suppose."

Sam sighed. "What are you doing Friday night?"

"Same thing as always. It's my waltzing lesson with Grandmother. She comes home that day."

Sam scrunched her face. "Okay, you're skipping that and coming to the school dance with me. I don't want to go alone, and you need some friends besides Alfred and your grandmother…"

"Isn't she your grandmother too?"

"I don't know… I've never met her, and Mom doesn't like her… So anyway, it starts at 6pm. I'll help you sneak out if needed."

GHGHGH

When Julian arrived back at the hospital, Alexis and Lucas were both asleep on the hospital bed. Julian stood in the doorway for several seconds just watching them sleep. He was supposed to protect his family. No one was supposed to get sick or hurt. But now his little guy was about to battle cancer. It should have been Julian instead. He should be the one having to face this.

He made his way over and placed a kiss on Lucas' forehead, then he knelt to kiss Alexis and her eyes slowly opened. She slipped out of bed and wrapped her arms around Julian's waist. "Is Sam okay?"

"I took her to Wyndemere. Franco was there when I arrived at Ava's."

She clenched her jaw. Was he alone with Sam at all?"

"I don't know. She was with both of them when I got there."

She sighed. "Okay, well at least she's safe right now. But if Lukey has to stay another night, one of us should take Sam home. And if he has to stay longer… we'll take turns. I don't want Sam to feel like we're not giving her any attention."

"Hopefully he doesn't have to stay long. And I'm not so sure it's good for you or the baby to spend too much time in the hospital."

Alexis shook her head. "I can't just leave Lucas here. He needs me."

"Has the doctor come back?"

"No. He won't be back until morning. But the nurses have been coming in and out to check on him." She breathed in sharply and placed a hand on her forehead. "I can't believe this is happening."

Julian held her close and stroked her hair. "He's going to beat this. He will. He will…"


	5. Chapter 5- The Dance

Hi everyone. I finally got _something_ written. Can't seem to get motivated to write these days. Especially can't seem to get back into Priorities, but this is a start. Hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 5- The Dance**

Carly was officially in an adult relationship. She couldn't wait until AJ and Sarah found out. She'd use every opportunity to rub it in their faces. She didn't want to ruin a good thing by telling Sonny her real age too soon. They had spent the last four nights together at the Port Charles Hotel (Momma and Tony thought she was out with AJ and she'd sneak in late). Sonny felt terrible that her ex was trying to steal her son away from her. He promised he'd do everything he could to help her win custody. She even planned on skipping the back to school dance so he could meet Michael. It was the perfect plan since AJ and Sarah were planning to take Michael for the weekend and would see them with Sonny.

Carly stared at her menu at Kelly's while Michael held a tiny stuffed bear tightly in his hand as he sat in his stroller.

"Order anything you'd like," Sonny said, then leaned over to Michael, showing off his dimples. "I'm glad to see you like the bear."

"It's a very thoughtful gift," Carly said. "You'd be a much better father than AJ."

"I am hoping to have more children."

"_More _children?"

He nodded. "I have a son. Dante. He's a very bright kid, though he has a concerning interest in the police."

Carly rolled her eyes. "I don't trust anyone who respects authority."

"Don't worry about AJ. I'll cover the cost of an attorney and even recommend one. We'll keep Michael from him."

She grinned.

"And if the courts don't abide, I'll take it into my own hands," Sonny assured.

GHGHGH

Sam had been staying at Wyndemere for four nights and refused to let her dad take her home. She was sick of his lies and started to wonder why Mom and Lucas weren't at home. She was surprised after school on Friday to find her mom instead of a Wyndemere driver there to pick her up.

Alexis climbed out of the car and wrapped her arms around Sam, but Sam pushed her away.

"Honey—"

"So, what is it?" Sam interrupted. "Are you and Dad getting divorced and you're keeping your little Lukey but not me?"

Alexis gaped at her. "How could you think such a thing?"

"That's why you and Lucas aren't at home right? And why Dad is making up sick lies about Lucas to spare me the thought of your marriage ending because of me!"

Alexis shook her head. "First of all, your dad and I aren't getting divorced, I have no idea where that's coming from. We're still in love as much as were when you were born. But even if we were splitting, it would never be because of you. And I certainly wouldn't keep Lucas but not you. You and your brother and this baby are everything to me."

Sam furrowed her eyebrows and crossed her arms.

Alexis cleared her throat and lowered her gaze. "Your dad didn't lie. Your brother is very sick."

"You _LIAR_!"

Alexis sighed. "Lucas is starting a treatment tomorrow, but your father and I are worried about you. He's going to stay with your brother tonight and I want to take you home to spend some time together since I'll need to be at the hospital a lot this weekend."

"I'm staying at Wyndemere. If I'm there, then maybe you and Dad can work things out."

"_Sam_, your dad and I have nothing to work out. Please, I want to spend some time with you. Besides, Helena is back tonight, and I won't allow you to stay there while she's there. We're going home."

"But it's the start of school dance tonight. Nikolas is coming with me."

Alexis rubbed her temples. "You can go to the next dance."

"_No_! I want to go to this dance. And Nikolas never gets out of the castle. He needs to be around normal people."

Alexis sighed. "What time is the dance at?"

"Seven."

"Then let's compromise, because I'm too drained to argue. We'll get some dinner and then you can go to the dance for two hours. Then you're coming home."

"Two hours?" Sam moaned. "But Mom, everyone hangs out after the dance. Everyone'll think I'm a Browner!"

Alexis groaned. "Sam—"

"I want people to like me. Don't you remember what it's like to be my age? Oh… you were likely a Browner yourself. So, you don't get it."

Alexis threw her arms in the air. "_Sam_! Of course, I know what it's like to be your age. And I know what it's like to want to fit in and to hang around the wrong crowd. But I also know what it's like to not have a mother around for guidance and to end up a pregnant teenager!"

Sam fought back the tears that began to sting at her eyes, and she couldn't even look at her mother. She finally said it out loud. Sam was the cause of all their problems. Not like Lucas who came after their parents had good jobs and a house rather than a run-down apartment. Lucas wasn't the one who disrupted her mother's late-night studying while Dad worked extra hours. No, it was all Sam.

"Oh, honey…" Alexis reached out and stroked her hair. "That didn't come out right…"

Sam shoved her arm away and jumped into the back seat with a huff.

GHGHGH

Lucas coloured the tip of Julian's nose with blue pen and hung socks from his ears as both sat on the hospital bed.

"What do you think?" Julian scratched his chin. "Do I make a better dog than a man?"

Lucas chuckled a little. "You're a funny doggy." But he quickly frowned and leaned against his pillow.

Julian lifted the socks from his ears and set them on top of Lucas' head, but he continued to frown. "Are feeling sick again, bud?"

Lucas shook his head.

"Then what's up?"

"Why doesn't Sammy like me anymore?" Lucas asked.

Julian frowned and wrapped an arm around him. "She does like you. She's just… going through a phase."

"What's a phase?"

"It's something women go through where they act all weird and blame men for everything."

"Oh."

"Don't worry about it, bud. She won't always be like that. Just every four weeks or so."

"Does Mommy go through phases?"

Julian nodded. "She most certainly does. I can tell her the sky is blue but when she's in a phase I have to pretend it's not blue. Sometimes I think her phases are more than once a month."

"Is that so?" Alexis appeared in the doorway.

Julian eyes grew wide. "Uh oh…" He turned to Lucas and whispered, "This is how to please a woman when she's going through a phase…" He sat up straighter. "Honey! I was just explaining to Lucas how not to talk to women. We need to respect women and their opinion." He grinned at Lucas and winked.

Alexis rolled her eyes. "If you're referring to the storm last weekend, just before it started to rain the sky was _grey_ not blue."

"Oh yes, dear. The sky was grey." He turned to Lucas and raised an eyebrow.

Alexis kissed Lucas' forehead and sat at the edge of the bed. "Your father is colour blind. A lot of men are."

"I thought you were spending time with Sam?" Julian asked. "Is she here?"

Alexis frowned. "We picked up Nikolas from the launch and they went to the school dance. So, I came here to kill some time."

Julian almost fell off the bed. "_A dance_? Do you mean like a dance lesson and Nikolas is the only boy there?"

"No. A real boy-girl dance."

"She's way too young!"

"Well, she is a teenager now," Alexis said.

"We were teenagers too!" Julian groaned.

"Yeah. Teenagers in a…" She covered Lucas' ears and mouthed, "Bar. She's at a chaperoned dance at school."

Julian clambered off the bed.

"What are you doing?" Alexis asked.

"Going to grab her, take her home, and lock her in her room until she's forty!"

GHGHGH

The girls (plus Nikolas) stood on one side of the gymnasium while the boys stood awkwardly on the other. The only ones dancing were seniors and a few juniors, with AJ and Sarah dancing the most.

"Should we ask someone to dance?" Sam asked Elizabeth.

Elizabeth shrugged. "Maybe."

Sam turned to Nikolas. "You ask someone first."

Nikolas shifted his feet awkwardly. "I've only ever danced with Grandmother."

Sam rolled her eyes.

"Is there anyone you have your eyes on?" Elizabeth asked.

Nikolas looked over at Emily and blushed.

Elizabeth took his arm and dragged him off. "Come on, I'll introduce you. Em and I were good friends in grade school."

But as they got closer to Emily, Lucky got there first. "Hey, Em. Wanna dance?"

Emily shrugged. "Sure."

Nikolas lowered his gaze as Lucky and Emily joined the dance floor.

"I'm sorry, Nikolas," Elizabeth said. "Maybe you can dance with Robin."

Nikolas looked over at Jason, Robin, and Drew standing together. Drew moved away from them and headed over to Sam.

"Hey," Elizabeth said as they walked over and blushed at Jason. "This is Sam's cousin, Nikolas."

Jason nodded at him.

"Hi," Robin said.

"Would you like to dance?" Nikolas asked.

Robin looked over at Patrick who was talking to Jax and Brenda, then turned back to Nikolas. "Sure."

Nikolas smiled and led her to the dance floor.

"So uh, it's a nice dance," Elizabeth said to Jason.

"Yeah." He smiled. "It's nice."

"Would you… do you wanna dance?" Elizabeth asked.

Jason smiled. "I'd love to—"

"Jason!" Carly showed up at their side. "There you are, I've been looking all over for you."

"We were about to dance," Elizabeth said.

"Dance?" Carly laughed. "He wouldn't dance with a little kid like you. Especially not when we have grownup matters to discuss." She waved at her. "So, bye-bye."

"Carly…" Jason said.

"Listen," Carly said turning to Jason and pretending that Elizabeth wasn't there anymore. "I want you there to witness AJ and Sarah's reactions to my new boyfriend. I told him about you. He might consider hiring you as he needs more workers in his business."

"What kind of business?" Jason asked.

She shrugged. "He makes coffee or something like that."

He raised an eyebrow. "Coffee?"

"Can't this wait until later?" Elizabeth spoke up.

Carly set her hands on her hips and glared at Elizabeth. "No one asked YOU." She turned back to Jason. "Come on. Looks like AJ and Sarah are getting ready to leave. I want to beat them to Kelly's."

Jason frowned. "Okay." He turned to Elizabeth. "Maybe we can dance another time."

Elizabeth clenched her jaw and stomped off.

On the other side of the gym, Drew walked over to Sam. "Hi there."

Sam blushed. "Hey."

"You must be new here. Where are you from?"

"Boston."

"Do you like to dance?"

She shrugged. "Not really."

"Want to get out of here, maybe go for a walk?"

"Please. This dance is so awkward."

GHGHGH

Julian burst through the entrance to the school where a teacher sat at a booth selling tickets.

"May I help you?" he asked.

"I'm looking for my daughter. Samantha Jerome."

The teacher raised an eyebrow. "Is this an emergency?"

"Yes!"

"I'll go see if I can find her." He took off towards the gym.

Julian paced back and forth for a few moments, then stormed into the gym himself.


End file.
